The traditional site of Absalom's Tomb is located on the eastern slope of the Kidron Valley, on the east side of Jerusalem. Josephus wrote about this tomb, which existed in the first century A.D. (Antiquities vii. 10, 3). It stands twenty feet high and twenty-four feet square.
(See
Sketch of 1st Century Jerusalem).

Archaeologists have determined that the
shrine can be dated back to the first century A.D. It has been
traditionally identified as the tomb of Absalom, the son of King David
who led a rebellion against him.

Rebellious Children were taught in
Judaism to throw stones at "Yad Avshalom" the shrine of Absalom to
learn what rebellion leads to, ""if any one in Jerusalem has a
disobedient child, he shall take him out to the Valley of
Jehoshaphat, to Absalom's Monument, and force him, by words or
stripes, to hurl stones at it, and to curse Absalom; meanwhile
telling him the life and fate of that rebellious son."

"Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which [is] in the king's dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called unto this day, Absalom's place." - 2 Samuel 18:18

" But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.
And when he polled his head, (for it was at every year's end that he polled [it]: because [the hair] was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight."- 2 Samuel 14:25-26

2 Samuel 16:8 - The
LORD hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in
whose stead thou hast reigned; and the LORD hath delivered the
kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold,
thou [art taken] in thy mischief, because thou [art] a bloody man.

2 Samuel 18:17 - And
they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in
the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him: and all
Israel fled every one to his tent.

"LORD, how
they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up
against me. Many are they who say of me, "There is no help for
him in God." Selah. But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, My
glory and the One who lifts up my head."Psalm 3:1-3

The above passage
was penned by David when his son Absalom led a popular rebellion and
drove him from the throne.

We sing many praise songs
using Psalm 3, the pained faith of David, crying from the wilderness
with his few & faithful followers. Reading back with futuristic
omniscience, we know that the flawed hero is David, the villain is
Absalom, and God, though disciplining David, for his own sins, kept
His promises and restored David to his throne.Had we been there, would we have chosen to stand with David,
or sided with the great majority who supported the rebel Absalom?How did Absalom steel the affection of Israel?

The Power of Offense

Absalom skillfully
used the power of the offense, a great force of evil on fallen
earth.The battle cry
of sinful man is “You have done me wrong, I am a victim, and
I demand justice!”

Only by the pure
grace of God can any of us withstand the unforgiving grip of the
offense. When we are offended, we can feel hurt, put-off, judged,
condemned, manipulated, used, trashed, diminished, invalidated,
humiliated, overlooked, shamed, cut off on the freeway, and
insulted, to name a few.Action
demanding emotions can bring us to combat, launch bitter words,
split a relationship or a church. When sufficiently offended, we are
all capable of great evil. Sealed tight, areas of our hearts can
forever become a willing partner with the most bitter hatred, or a
distant withdrawal of all love.We can become an Absalom.

The Hurtful Chronology

A grave sin - 2 Sam. 13

Absalom’s
sister Tamar raped, rejected and shamed by his half brother
Amnon
Tamar receives no justice from King David
2 years later Absalom conspires and kills Amnon
Now a murderer, Absalom flees and remains banished. David mourning Amnon and Absalom, calls for his
return after 3 years
David still divided in heart, remains distant for 2 more
years without seeing Absalom

Fighting For Forgiveness - 2 Sam 14

Absalom burns
down General Joab’s field to gain the King’s attention.
Absalom’s tantrum gains David’s attention and they are
reconciled - somewhat...

Absalom Still Holds A Grudge - 2 Sam 15

Absalom conspires to
overthrow David
Absalom exploits the hurts of Israel’s citizens
Absalom steals their allegiance

In
the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and
horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. He would get up early
and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever
anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a
decision, Absalom would call out to him, "What town are you
from?" He would answer, "Your servant is from one of the
tribes of Israel." Then Absalom would say to him, "Look,
your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of
the king to hear you." And Absalom would add, "If only I
were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint
or case could come to me and I would see that he gets justice."Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him,
Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him.
Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to
the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the men
of Israel.2 Sam 15: 1-6

When chronic injustices
have not been addressed, and suddenly a beautiful and charming
rescuer appears willing to listen, oh how we can fill their ears
with our complaints!How
we can bond immediately with someone skillful enough to tap our
reservoir of rage.David
was an absentee ruler in certain ways, remote in his castle, while
seething trouble boiled over in his family and kingdom.

We however, must learn to
be careful and submit to the Holy Spirit, our cause may seem just,
but we could be backing Absalom.

Do
not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it
is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the
Lord. Rom. 12:19

Forgive
us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.Mat. 6:12

Bear
with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against
one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Col. 3:13

Absalom murdered his
half brother for the rape of his sister Tamar. He fled Israel.
Returning after 3 years, he waited 2 more to see his father in what
appears to be reconciliation.Soon
after, however, Absalom began his plot to take over the kingdom from
his father King David by a cunning plan of amassing political and
military strength.

Though David’s sin
allowed the “sword” to enter his household, the methods Absalom
used to manipulate a population are worth studying.

Jesus said before his
crucifixion that the prince of this world is coming and he has no
hold on me.John
14:30As
Absalom began to manipulate the population of Israel, there were
many worldly holds for him to exploit, ripe & ready to be
manipulated.

PERSONAL BEAUTY

We are attracted to
beauty.If someone has
the look, they start off with favorable ratings, having done nothing
more than to appear.

In all Israel there was
not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom.
From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no
blemish in him 2 Sam. 14:25

A SHOW OF POWER

We (fallen humans) are
attracted to confidence and displays of power.

Now it came about
after this that Absalom provided for himself a chariot and horses
and fifty men as runners before him.2 Sam 15:1

EXPLOITING RESENTMENT

We love people who seem
to validate our claims of justice and victim-hood.

Absalom used to rise
early and stand beside the way to the gate; and when any man had a
suit to come to the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and
say, "From what city are you?" And he would say,
"Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel." Then
Absalom would say to him, "See, your claims are good and right,
but no man listens to you on the part of the king."2 Sam. 15:2,3

EXPLOITING MISERY

Absalom was shamelessly
‘using’ the suffering within others for his own purposes,
implicitly promising relief “if only he had the power”.

Moreover, Absalom would
say, " Oh that one would appoint me judge in the land, then
every man who has any suit or cause could come to me and I would
give him justice." 2 Sam 15:4

FLATTERY

We like people who
compliment and build us up, and there is nothing wrong with giving
honor to whom honor is due, but Absalom became an over the top
smooth talker.

And when a man came
near to prostrate himself before him, he would put out his hand and
take hold of him and kiss him. 2 Sam 15:5

A VOID
OF SOCIAL JUSTICE

Absalom exploited a void
of justice left by David, who was absent, and not providing any
leadership to deal with the civil concerns of his people.

In this manner Absalom
dealt with all Israel who came to the king for judgment; so Absalom
stole away the hearts of the men of Israel.

PHONY RELIGIOSITY

Absalom did anything but
‘go in peace’.Like
the Pharisees, he put on a religious show to impress others.Perhaps he was trying to out-righteous his father.

Now it came about at
the end of forty years that Absalom said to the king, "Please
let me go and pay my vow which I have vowed to the LORD, in Hebron.
"For your servant vowed a vow while I was living at Geshur in
Aram, saying, ' If the LORD shall indeed bring me back to Jerusalem,
then I will serve the LORD.'" The king said to him, "Go in
peace." So he arose and went to Hebron.1 Sam 15:7-9

PEER PRESSURE

Absalom used the fear of
man to persuade others to go along.He created a sudden sense of finality about seizing power by
making noise and hiring bold persuasive loud mouths to proclaim the
seizing of power in the past tense.

Then Absalom sent
secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, "As
soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, 'Absalom is
king in Hebron.' "2
Sam 15:10

MASS MANIPULATION

In our fallen world,
numbers bring credibility to any endeavor; it is a strong temptation
to judge God’s approval based on how many others are present.Of course many people can be deceived, and God save by many
or by few.The amount
of people involved in anything means only that those people are
there.It is never
proof of the justness of any cause.

Then two hundred men
went with Absalom from Jerusalem, who were invited and went
innocently, and they did not know anything.

APPARENT
WISDOM

And
Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, from
his city Giloh, while he was offering the sacrifices. And the
conspiracy was strong, for the people increased continually with
Absalom. 1 Sam 15:12
While Absalom was showing off his piety, he called for the man who
was closest to King David, his trusted and wise counselor Ahithophel.This was decisive since the reputation of Ahithophel was
spotless.

Now in those days the
advice Ahithophel gave was like that of one who inquires of God.
That was how both David and Absalom regarded all of Ahithophel's
advice. 2 Sam 16:23

But if Ahithophel was so
wise, why did he join Absalom’s rebellion?Perhaps his wisdom was clouded by deep & bitter
resentments, privately held against the man of God he served.Perhaps Ahithophel could not keep his own heart clean but
bore a secret rage.Compare
2 Sam 11:3 & 2 Sam23:34 for one possible source of abiding
unforgiveness.

CONCLUSION

In the end however, the
first cause of this rebellion was David’s sin, which brought a
sword into his household2
Sam 12:10,11Yet, David
was repentant (Psalm 51) and the call of God remained upon
his life. The Messiah Jesus will still sit upon the throne of David.God did not abandon him but redeemed the sin of David and
used it to show the power of his forgiveness.

Absalom was overthrown,
his plot was destroyed, and he died in disgrace.

When an Absalom is
stirring up strife and manipulating the unfinished business in the
hearts of people, it is our own responsibility to guard our hearts
with all diligence and not be taken in by shameless exploitation of
worldly desires.It is
also our responsibility to hold our leaders accountable.Many might not confront a gifted leader for fear of being an
Absalom.None of us
need be an Absalom by stirring up strife in secret. None of us need
be manipulated by an Absalom, listening to divisiveness in secret.

It is our responsibility
to walk in the light, to confront in the light, and to also cleanse
our hearts of bitter resentments by walking in forgiveness.